The role of a nurse with a practice doctorate is multifaceted and significantly different from that of a nurse with a research doctorate. As a DNP-prepared nurse, you may serve as a clinical nurse educator, a policy and legislation advocate, an organization leader, or an advanced practice nurse responsible for tracking, installing, and monitoring initiatives aimed at improving nursing and healthcare delivery.
Which role(s) are you most excited about? What do you hope to accomplish as a DNP-prepared nurse? Regardless of what the future holds for you, your Walden DNP program will help you develop the knowledge and skills necessary to enact these roles.
Resources
Be sure to review the Learning Resources before completing this activity.
Click the weekly resources link to access the resources.
WEEKLY RESOURCES
To prepare:
Review this Week’s Learning Resources, paying special attention to the degree requirements for completing the Walden DNP and AACN’s The Essentials.
Reflect on your personal motivations and goals in pursuing the DNP degree.
Consider the expectations and role of a nurse with a practice doctorate and how they may differ from that of a nurse with a research doctorate.
Reflect on any previous experiences you have had in addressing a gap in practice or a practice change within an organization.
Consider what it means, as a DNP-prepared nurse, to address an organization’s quality improvement needs by attending to a gap in practice or implementing a practice change.
By Day 3 of Week 4
Post the following:
A brief explanation of your personal motivations and goals in pursuing the DNP degree.
A description of the expectations and role of a nurse with a practice doctorate and how they may differ from those of a nurse with a research doctorate.
A description of how, as a DNP-prepared nurse, you hope to address an organization’s quality improvement needs by attending to a gap in practice or implementing a practice change. Include any previous experiences you have had in addressing a gap in practice or a practice change within an organization.
Note: Your posts should be a substantial (500 words minimum), supported with scholarly evidence from your research and/or the Learning Resources, and properly cited using APA Style. Personal anecdotes are acceptable as part of a meaningful post but cannot stand alone as the entire post.
Read a selection of your colleagues’ posts.
Note: For this Discussion, you are required to complete your initial post before you will be able to view and respond to your colleagues’ postings. Begin by clicking on the Reply button to complete your initial post. Remember, once you click on Post Reply, you cannot delete or edit your own posts and you cannot post anonymously. Please check your post carefully before clicking on Post Reply!
By Day 6 of Week 4
Respond to at least two of your classmates, on different days, by offering one of the following:
An additional expectation or role of a DNP-prepared nurse that they did not mention
An additional difference between the expectations and role of a practice nurse and a research nurse that they did not mention
Note: Your responses to classmates should be substantial (250 words minimum), supported with scholarly evidence from your research and/or the Learning Resources, and properly cited using APA Style. Personal anecdotes are acceptable as part of a meaningful response, but cannot stand alone as a response. Your responses should enrich the initial post by supporting and/or offering a fresh viewpoint, and be constructive, thereby enhancing the learning experience for all students.
* Additionally, you must respond to your professor if they ask a question or comment on your post.
Return to this Discussion in a few days to read the responses to your initial posting. Note what you have learned and/or any insights that you have gained because of your classmates’ comments.
Learning Resources
Required Readings
American Association of Colleges of Nursing. (2021). The essentials: Core competencies for professional nursing educationLinks to an external site.. AACN. https://www.aacnnursing.org/Portals/0/PDFs/Publications/Essentials-2021.pdf
Johansen, M. L. (2023). The value of a DNP degree.Links to an external site. Nursing Management (Springhouse), 54(1), 56. https://doi.org/10.1097/01.NUMA.0000905020.79954.e6
Melander, S., Hampton, D., & Rayens, M. K. (2023). Celebrating over 20 years: Outcomes from the first doctor of nursing practice programLinks to an external site.. Journal of Professional Nursing, 48, 186–193. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.profnurs.2023.07.011
Prado-Inzerillo, M., Rivera, R. R., & Fitzpatrick, J. J. (2023). Academic-practice partnership for Doctor of Nursing practice in a large medical centerLinks to an external site.. Nurse Leader, 21(3), 366–369. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mnl.2023.02.004
Thornton, C. P., Haut, C., Yefimova, M., Gettis, M. A., Calamaro, C., Ginsberg, J. S., & McCabe, M. A. (2024). Student-led Doctor of Nursing practice projects in the clinical environment: Viewpoint from hospital-based nurse scientists and leadersLinks to an external site.. Nursing Outlook, 72(5). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.outlook.2024.102239
Kesten, K., Beebe, S. L., Moran, K., Conrad, D., Manderscheid, A., Pohl, E., Burson, R., & Corrigan, C. (2022). Practice scholarship satisfaction and impact as perceived by DNP-prepared nursesLinks to an external site.. Journal of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners, 34(5), 722-730–730. https://doi.org/10.1097/JXX.0000000000000707
Kesten, K., Beebe, S., Conrad, D., Corrigan, C., Manderscheid, A., Moran, K., & Niederer, M. (2023). Alignment of DNP degree competencies with employer perspectives: The value of academic practice partnershipsLinks to an external site.. Journal of Professional Nursing, 48, 112–118. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.profnurs.2023.07.003
Walden University. (n.d.). Doctor of nursing practiceLinks to an external site.. https://academicguides.waldenu.edu/catalog/doctor-nursing-practice
